This is a place for me to share some of my work. On this site you will find many examples of micro lessons. Many of them will take the form of 1 to 10 minutes video clips or short to the point articles. I believe that micro lessons could be a powerful tool that we can use with students. I hope that you enjoy this Blog site. This site will discuss educational technology as a tool for student learning. Site Publisher Fred Sharpsteen
email contact sharpstf@gmail.com

We are getting near 10000 page hits from around the world. The chart above shows the monthly hits at this site. As you can see from the trend line we may see us hit the next 10,000 hits in half the time if this growth continues. I started this just to have a place for me to easily get back to cool things that I found interesting in technology education on the web and YouTube. It was started as a required page for my master degree program at Central Michigan University. I found that I enjoyed finding and sharing these micro videos on educational technology and issues in education. Well I am glade that I can help share this with all of the people in the world. Please feel free to drop me a note at sharpstf@gmail.com to let me know how you have found this useful in you life in education.

Please take a moment and send the link to someone that you know if you have found this site of any use to you.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Here are some extraordinary moments of clarity - and often Eileen Devonshire was at the heart of this work to open the key debates needed if government policy was to keep up with the pace of innovation in schools and industry.
One such contribution was to commission (from the talented folk at Magic Lantern) this short video about the future of learning: students, NQTs, wise old owls, Anthony Minghella (sadly missed), Prof Sir Magdi Yacoub, Sir Paul Smith, Sir Trevor McDonald, old archive footage, and all sorts. I got to narrate it - fab little buzz of video for professional development etc.

Examview
This is a great tool for creating and sharing test question with a group of teachers. It is easy after creating a bank of question and using them as you need for formative testing of students.

Friday, October 28, 2011

With the convergence of major advances in computing hardware and software, technology is playing an increasingly important role in many aspects of society. In his speech at the University of Washington, Bill discussed important breakthroughs in computer science and engineering that have implications in education, health, and improving the lives of the world’s poorest 2 billion people.

Here is an interesting trend that is happening with technology in education.
Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
These trends are being seen nationally in technology surveys.
The average age of a smartphone is 18 months…home computer/laptop is 48 months…the typical home computer is newer and faster than the typical school computer and that trend will not reverse. Students and teachers own better learning technology than what we can make available to them in school. With these personalized learning tools, students and teachers can be more effective learners and instructors.
Concerns that it can create:
· Equity (kids without computers) - the have vs. the have not
· Pedagogy (instruction strategy)
· Policy (AUP) language and Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
· Technical (no wireless access) - Adding Wifi or allowing Cell 3G or4G service
· Device options (which devices to allow) - Smart Phones, Pads, Tablets, Laptops, or Nintendo DS.
Schools have already have begun to allow students and teachers to bring their own technology to school. This movement presents both challenges and opportunities for the classroom. This is a trend that we will need to think about as we move forward in education. How will it change your rooms? I just want to put this out for thought and discussion. This way we can start to think about how you see it changing student learning and fitting into our systems. Over the next 12 months we will be working on updating our district technology plan. While we do that, we will want to address how this will fit into the technology plan that takes us into the future.

ASCD author and Annual Conference presenter Grant Wiggins describes how encouraging feedback from his students helped him to become a better teacher. Learn more about the 2011 ASCD Annual Conference & Exhibit Show at http://www.ascd.org/annualconference.

Jay McTighe on the Challenge of Learning Something New - ASCD author and Annual Conference presenter Jay McTighe describes how learning to surf helped him to gain greater empathy for students who may be facing difficulties with learning new things. Learn more about the 2011 ASCD Annual Conference & Exhibit Show at http://www.ascd.org/annualconference.

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005
Here we see Steve Jobs delivering his commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005. In it he talks about getting fired from Apple in 1985, life & death

Monday, October 17, 2011

Founder - Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI)
50 In 52 Journey interview of Donna York, Nora Chahbazi, and Kathy Kujat. As a follow up to the Nora Chahbazi interview watch this video to hear how one mother used Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI) to help her nine year old son learn to read after two years of failure to produce results by the school system, and listen to what a teacher says after a lifetime of teaching when she found EBLI and realized she never learned how to really teach reading. Real stories from real people benefiting from a new way to approach reading for children and adults who don't know how to read. Be inspired by what these people are doing in Michigan, and what you can do in your own state, your own community, your own family.
Here is a sample of what EBLI looks like.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Lisa Nielsen, best known as creator ofThe Innovative Educator blog, is an outspoken and passionate advocate of learning innovatively. She is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning. Ms. Nielsen speaks with audiences around the world sharing real-life anecdotes about the risk-taking actions she feels are necessary to do what is in the best interest of 21st century students despite the protests of educational administrators and policy makers stuck in the past. Passionate about educator voice and thinking outside the ban Ms. Nielsen blogs, promotes cell phone use for educators and students, and friends students on Facebook even though an outdated educational system tried to stop her from moving ahead. She has already seen her efforts begin to pay off as her district has taken baby steps in breaking free from the old way of doing things and is moving toward embracing innovation and recognizing that some of these ideas are not so bad after all.

Based in New York City, Lisa Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities helping schools and districts to educate in innovative ways that will prepare students for their future. In addition to her blog, Ms. Nielsen writes for Huffington Post, EdReformer, Tech & Learning,ISTE Connects, Leading & Learning, ASCD Edge and is the author of the soon- to-be-released book, “Teaching Generation Text.”

Disclaimer: The information shared does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.

It's rare for education reformers, policymakers, and funders to listen to those at the heart of education reform work: The students. In fact Ann Curry who hosted Education Nation's first *student panel admitted folks at NBC were a little nervous about putting kids on stage. In their "Voices of a Nation" discussion, young people provided insight into their own experiences with education and what they think needs to be done to ensure that every student receives a world-class education. After the discussion Curry knew these students didn't disappoint. She told viewers, "Students wanted to say something that made a difference to you (adults) and they did. Now adults need to listen."

Below are the sentiments shared by these current and former students during the segment.

I have to critically think in college, but your tests don't teach me that.

We learn in different ways at different rates.

I can't learn from you if you are not willing to connect with me.

Teaching by the book is not teaching. It's just talking.

Caring about each student is more important than teaching the class.

Every young person has a dream. Your job is to help bring us closer to our dreams.

We need more than teachers. We need life coaches.

The community should become more involved in schools.

Even if you don't want to be a teacher, you can offer a student an apprenticeship.

Us youth love all the new technologies that come out. When you acknowledge this and use technology in your teaching it makes learning much more interesting.

You should be trained not just in teaching but also in counseling.

Tell me something good that I'm doing so that I can keep growing in that.

When you can feel like a family member it helps so much.

We appreciate when you connect with us in our worlds such as the teacher who provided us with extra help using Xbox and Skype

Our teachers have too many students to enable them to connect with us in they way we need them to.

Bring the electives that we are actually interested in back to school. Things like drama, art, cooking, music.

Education leaders, teachers, funders, and policy makers need to start listening to student voice in all areas including teacher evaluations.

You need to use tools in the classroom that we use in the real world like Facebook, email, and other tools we use to connect and communicate.

You need to love a student before you can teach a student.

We do tests to make teachers look good and the school look good, but we know they don't help us to learn what's important to us.

The students are ready to talk to us. How are we going to make time to listen and incorporate their voices into the policies and decisions that affect them?

A crucial element of a successful school year is to provide students with an empowering Atmosphere for learning. Watch this brief video from Quantum Learning Education showcasing tips on what you can say and do to create a climate in your classroom that promotes a sense of joy, safety, and support.

A Blended Option: Integrating Bricks and Mortar with OnlineIn their book, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, Christensen, Horn, and Johnson (2008) assert that online and blended learning are creating disruptive innovation that will impact Michigan and the nation. Stacker chronicles 40 schools that have successfully blended bricks and mortar with online learning in The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning: Profiles of Emerging Models (2011). Beyond reform, “Online learning has the potential to be a disruptive force that will transform the factory-like, monolithic structure that has dominated America’s schools into a new model that is student-centric, highly personalized for each learner, and more productive” (Stacker, 2011, p. 3).
At St. Clair County RESA, a multi-disciplinary team created a blended learning continuum depicting the instructional transformation that occurs when schools move from traditional, face-to-face classroom instruction in a bricks-and-mortar environment to a blended learning classroom that is accessible 24/7/365. [See Insert] In Stage 1 of the continuum, a teacher serves the main dispenser of knowledge. Students primarily sit in straight rows, often passively absorbing the information conveyed. Three stages from this is the blended learning environment wherein the teacher serves as lead learner and mentor for students who are actively engaged in learning, both face-to-face and online. Students use Web 2.0 tools and technology to research, design, create and demonstrate their understanding.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Cell phones in schools... pretty hot topic these days. Many schools are banning cell phones at school... but is this realistic? And are schools over looking the importance of this 21st Century learning tool? Many schools, teachers, and researchers are working to develop the use of cell phones as engaging and sustainable learning tools. It is estimated that by 2020, cell phones will replace personal computers. So, why shouldn't schools be using cell phones as learning tools? The future is NOW! Media Presentation for EMDT Full Sail University, Winter Park FL Dec. 12, 2009.

• Animated introductory segment that tees up vignette series • History of Standards, development • Promise of college-and-career ready students Common Core State Standards: A New Foundation for Student Success

For the last few years I have been fascinated with Clayton Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation and its application to business, politics, education, and insurgency models. What I find most interesting is that his theory, featured in both "The Innovators Dilemma" and "The Innovators Solution" provides a prescription for a small entrant with less resources to compete with and beat a large incumbent.

To understand his theory we begin by looking at a set of customers for a good or service. A simplified segmentation of the market is defined as non consumers, mainstream customers, and higher end customers. The incumbent starts by creating a good or service that appeals to the mainstream consumer. Upon reaching market segment saturation, the company looks up market and innovates on the product to capture the higher end more margin rich segment. Often tech companies competing in the same market play this leap frog game of matching innovation to control more of the commodity market. Clayton defines these as sustaining innovations.

In business the process is called profit maximizing resource allocation and the right competitor can use it to force an incumbent out the top end of the market. By continuing to innovate, the incumbent creates bloated products or services that have more value or performance than the consumer can utilize. The logic is that if I can please my most demanding customers then my main stream customers will be also be satisfied, but in reality it exposes the lower end of the market to the disruptive entrant who can enter in two ways:

- By targeting non-consumers with a simple, less expensive and more convenient product - this is referred to as a new market disruption
- By innovating on the business or manufacturing process so as to reduce costs and provide a product that over served consumers can get at a lower price.

With both the entrant and incumbent competing in the same segment, the entrant has the margin advantage as the price equilibrium is set at the marginal cost of the incumbent. The incumbent is unable to compete, and the strategy becomes to abandon the low end of the market which contains their least profitable, least loyal customer base and refocus the business in the higher margin tiers with more loyal customers. With the incumbent effectively pushed out of the segment, prices fall to the marginal cost of the entrant.

Now competing in a commodity market and faced with the same growth imperative as the incumbent, necessity begets innovation: The entrant must figure out how to apply the new innovation in the business, manufacturing, or product to move up market. Once this happens the incumbent abandonment, segment commoditization, and then entrant up market movement repeats itself through until the incumbent is forced out of the market.

Here is where it gets interesting: by pushing the incumbent out of the market, the entrant becomes the incumbent and is now exposed to the disruptive entrant. So how does the incumbent compete? Clayton makes the case that the company should develop an autonomous business unit to compete at the lower end of the market. He makes a great argument that the cost structure of an organization drives its values and these cost structure based values limit an incumbent from competing directly with an entrant.

While I think this is good solution, I see it as highly reactive. I think an organization should do as Toyota did and implement a clear and hold strategy similar to what the Marines do in their counterinsurgency operations. When competition, demanding customers, and profit mazimazation drive a company to innovate up market, a company should establish an autonomous business unit to move up market much like Toyota did with the creation of Lexus. And even though they were proactive in creating Lexus, sometimes a disruption redefines the market by turning non consumers into customers, forcing an incumbent to be reactive. Ultimately Toyota had to establish Scion to compete with disruptors like Hyundai and Kia. That's a quick look at the Disruptive Innovation model, Thanks for watching and I look forward to your feedback. for more, Check out Clayton's books "The Innovators Dilemma and The Innovators Solution."

This is a good video as it show how we must change our thinking. We need to stay quick to change our direction when we need to. Disruptive innovation is happening and if your school does not stay open minded to changing then you will be in big trouble and Disruptive innovative schools with take your place.

By Jason Parmenter ~ "Never been a fan of Apple, but I've always appreciated Steve Jobs as a visionary in the field of technology. The tech world suffered a huge loss today with is death. The apple website says it best" "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

Sunday, October 2, 2011

charlie brown teacher - How do you connect with your students. Do you give them the feeling that they are important. You may be the only person in there life that makes them feel as if they are important.

The purpose of 21things4teachers is to provide "Just in Time” training through an online interface for K-12 educators based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers(NETS-T). These standards are the basic technology skills every educator should possess. In the process, educators will develop their own skills and discover what students need in order to meet the NETS for Students, as well as online course requirement.